Isn't it something to do with were the funds are coming from, if you have the funds on paypal there's no charge, but if they are drawn from a card or bank a fee is applied.
I'm only charge the fee if I try to send the gift by CC/Debit. When I send it straight from my bank there is no fee. You're charge a fee if you pay via CC/Debit so you're better off not sending as gift for protection
Bingo. I've dealt enough with PayPal (for roughly 10 years) and I still do a lot of business through it, both buying and selling. I have never seen this fee for sending or receiving payments sent as "gift". My bank is attached and I never leave any amount in my PayPal account. I immediately shoot it into my bank (takes about 3-4 days to transfer) and whenever I pay for something, I use PayPal and shoot the payment from my bank account attached to it. No fees. The only time I've seen fees taken is when someone pays using one of the other options, instead of the "gift" option. I'm a VERY reputable buyer and seller, I'm on the forums numerous times daily, and my feedback here and on ebay are 100% (been with both for over 10 years). Whenever I do business on here with my customs work, those who buy from me or commission me, always send via "gift" and I am always on and sharing my progress on things. So sending "gift" can be great for some, but for those who just aren't sure, I'd suggest sending (and paying) the 4%, that way you have buyer protection AND it's not coming out of the pocket of the man doing all the hard work on customs and parts (ie. me). But I have no worries. I've sent as gift (to very trustworthy individuals I know) and I've received as gift with no issues. We stay in contact and things are good. But I can see where shady assholes might take advantage of that.
Yeah, that's what's happening. I send funds from my bank account so there is no fee. So, I and the people that said there is a fee are both right it just depends on where the funds come from. That's why I've never seen a fee.
Hey, thanks for the heads up guys. If I ever DO gift payment again, I'm doing through instant transfer for damned sure. Makes a lot more sense where ya'l were coming from too. Regardless though: Gift payment without having a good history with someone is a bad idea. Paying an extra 4 cents on a dollar isn't worth giving up your rights as a buyer.
Also leaves the seller with no protection. I know someone is going to butt in and say if you receive payment as a gift they cannot take it back. Trust me they can. If the money originally came from a credit card or bank account and the account is overdrawn the bank will take the money back. I have had it happen. I always request the buyers account name and send them an invoice. I eat the fees. I am willing to bet I do a heck of a lot of trades / sales on here than most and it works for me. I think of the fees as the price of doing business. I also do not send as a gift because as Hook stated you as the buyer have no protection. Paypal fees suck, ebay fees really suck, deal with it......
Well if anything, I'm surprised that using Paypal is as cheap as it is (right now anyway), considering how much it does for so little effort on our part when compared to real banks & all other forms of non physical exchanges. In other words 4% or whatever it ends up being now is quite a small price to pay when looking at the service that it not only provides before before & at the point of sale, but also afterwards in order to claims & whatnot.
I don't even have the option of using gift anymore, since PayPal in all its wonder decided people in Asia are no longer allowed to send money as gifts. That said, I wouldn't pay for something using the gift option anyway. Too many horror stories about people being screwed over.
Just in case it isn't clear after all the rip off threads and posts like this: NEVER pay for anything as a gift without a good history with someone. It's not worth the risk.
The only other time a gift payment would have fees attached other than when paying with a debit or credit card is when the other person is in a different country than you. The fees are minimal but they do get tacked on and as the sender you pay them. Paypal fees are 2.9% plus $.30. Which is exactly what credit card companies charge businesses in most cases. So while there's not much in the way of competition for part time sellers like most of us there is competition for using paypal by businesses. Businesses just have higher prices to cover the fees and whatnot.
Also for the sake of calculating things (which can be a little more complicated for transactions where both people arent in the same country), blaynescott posted this thread in the Junkion exchange, linking people to a Paypal calculator. In other words, it's worth checking out because nobody wants to short someone or overpay. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/items...vs-adding-paypal-fees-invoice-ppcalc-com.html
You could always sell on Amazon and watch them take 15% right off the top before stiffing you on shipping vouchers. Of course they have an interest in doing that, because it forces sellers to inflate their sale prices and Amazon's 15% inflates along with them. Honestly, I wonder if all these middlemen taking large cuts of every transaction aren't a factor in keeping the economy down...you can't even liquidate assets to keep your head above water because it's so easy for the math to put you even further in the red.
